Gift of the Viking
by TheWhiteTitan
Summary: Hiccup is getting ready to celebrate Snoggletog Day, and this time, he's going to have a special visitor, someone he knew when he was just a little boy, someone with wild, red hair. AU. First Mericcup Fanfic!


**Merry Christmas! This is my fanfic to celebrate in the spirit of the holidays, my very first Mericcup! Please enjoy it! AU where Hiccup and Merida are childhood friends. This happened after the Brave movie and before How to Train your Dragon 2.**

**Author's Note: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon 2 or Brave 2012. They belong to Dreamworks and Pixar.**

"You ready, bud?" Hiccup, a lean, young man with brown hair wearing brown, leather armor and a mask, asked his friend, who was a dragon as dark as midnight.

Toothless growled and nodded, showing a gummy grin. Hiccup grinned as he pulled a small lever near the stirrup. Without warning, he jumped off his saddle. The two fell towards the ground, enjoying the cold, rushing air and excitement. The two shared a grin before Hiccup used his glider that was attached to his armor.

The two flew side by side, enjoying the feeling. They started racing each other towards a nearby cliff covered in snow. After a few minutes, Hiccup landed first, landing on his feet, leaving one boot print and one small print from his metal leg.

He looked back at Toothless with a smug grin. His grin turned upside down when Toothless was flying towards him with a wicked glint in his eyes. Before Hiccup could get away, Toothless landed on him with a loud thump.

"Ow…" Hiccup said as Toothless laughed. Hiccup tried to push the dragon off, but he just lay there. After a few minutes, Toothless finally got bored and let Hiccup up. The two looked at the nice view as Hiccup removed his mask.

"We better go back, Toothless," Hiccup suggested as he saw how high the sun is. "Merida is almost here."

Toothless nodded. Hiccup hop on Toothless' back and flew back towards Berk, their home. Hiccup was not your average Viking; he was not big and buff like the others, and he didn't act like them. But he was a hero to his tribe. He, and Toothless, managed to stop the war between the Vikings and dragons that's been going on for centuries. Thanks to them, they were in peace with the dragons. Living with them. Training them.

Hiccup was excited today. Not because it was almost Snoggletog, the best holiday in Berk, but because his childhood friend from DunBroch is coming for the holiday. Her name's Merida, Princess of DunBroch.

Hiccup remembered the first time he met her; it was during his father's meeting with the king about trades. When they first met, Merida thought Hiccup was too small to be a Viking and Hiccup thought she was too adventurous to be a princess.

They instantly became friends. The two would go to the forest together to hunt trolls and other stuff. Then they would watch their dads spar each other and would listen to stories Merida's mom would tell. The last time they met, the Dragon Academy has been established. Hiccup told Merida about it, who seemed awe at the idea of riding and training dragons. She was also shocked to find his leg gone, replaced by metal.

He smiled fondly at the memories. He really missed her. The way she would laugh, the mischievous glint in her eyes when she would grab a cake or two before dessert, her red, wild hair that matches her personality.

Hiccup shook his head, trying to clear his head from the distracting thoughts. After a few minutes, they finally reached Berk, a small island. All over the village, villagers and dragons were decorating their homes with helmets, decorated shields and ribbons. On the docks, the Vikings were decorating a large boat, which the dragons will carry towards the island where they lay and hatch their eggs tomorrow.

Toothless landed in front of the man-made tree covered with dragon spikes and shields. As Hiccup got off, he was greeted by a heavy slap on the back.

"Welcome back, son!" his father, Stoic the Vast, greeted with a hearty chuckle.

"Hey…Dad…" Hiccup said with a grunt as he rubbed his back. "Is the ship here yet?"

"Can't wait to see that princess, eh?" Stoic said, looking at his son's reddening face. "I'm only teasing. The ship well probably be here soon."

Hiccup nodded, his face a bit red. He and Toothless then walked towards the Dragon Academy. Inside, his fellow Dragon Riders were just doing their own thing with their dragons. Astrid, a pretty, young woman with blond, braided hair. Next to her was her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. Fishlegs, a husky young man with short blond hair, holding a book. Next to him was his faithful Gronkle, Meatlug. The twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, where wrestling each other, with Tuff losing to Ruff. Their Zippleback, Barf and Belch, were copying their Riders. Snotlout, the buff young man with black hair, was flexing at himself, kissing his arms. Hookfang, his Monstrous Nightmare, was rolling his eyes at his Rider.

"Hey guys," he said, getting their attention.

"Happy Snoggletog, Hiccup," Astrid said happily. Out of all of them, she's the most spirited when it comes to the holidays. "You excited?"

"Of course," Hiccup said. "To witness baby dragons hatching from eggs is something I look forward to every year."

"That's not what I meant," Astrid said with a sly grin. Hiccup blushed and turned his head to avoid looking at them.

Ever since Hiccup told her about Merida, she's been teasing Hiccup every chance she got. In their teen years, the two used to have small crushes on each other. But the two were better as friends.

"So, when is this Princess arriving?" Astrid asked.

"Soon," Hiccup said, his face returning to normal. "So, back to business. Who's coming with me to the island?"

Almost immediately, everyone volunteered. After talking about their role and job, they heard the sound of a horn. Perking up, Hiccup hopped on Toothless and they flew towards the docks. Once they were there, he spotted a majestic wooden ship in the horizon with the DonBroch crest on a flag.

Hiccup grinned as he the ship. On top of the ship, he could see a wild mane of red hair. He urged Toothless to fly towards the ship. As they got closer, Hiccup could see Merida better. She grew the last time they saw each other. She got taller and looked more lady-like, but she still had the same red, wild hair.

"Merida!" he called as they got close enough.

The sailors on board were looking and pointing at Toothless with a look of terror while they looked at Hiccup with awe and shock. Merida, after getting over her surprise, smiled widely and waved at Hiccup.

Hiccup grinned as Toothless moved closer to the ship, causing some of the sailors to back away quickly. The Night Fury landed on the ship and Hiccup got off him. As soon as his feet hit the ground, something ran into him, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"I miss ye, Hiccup!" Merida exclaimed in a heavy Scottish accent, not slackening her bear hug.

"Miss you too, Mer," Hiccup said, trying to breath. "Um…I can't breath…"

Merida finally let him go with a laugh as Hiccup took a deep breath. He then looked at Merida and smiled. Suddenly, he felt Toothless tapping at him with his snout.

"So, is this Toothless?" Merida said as she looked at the dragon, who was looking at her with curious eyes.

"Yup," Hiccup said as he moved aside to make introductions. "Toothless, Merida. Merida, Toothless."

Toothless walked towards Merida, who hesitantly lifted her hand, like Hiccup told her. Toothless sniffed at her hand. He then closed his eyes and touched her hand with his snout. Hiccup smiled at that, so did Merida.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps towards them. They turned and saw a man with short, red, wild hair wearing a kilt. He was as big and vast as Stoic and he had a wooden peg leg on his other leg.

"Is that ye, Hiccup?" King Fergus said as he saw Hiccup, lumbering towards him. "Ye've grown, m'boy!"

He gave Hiccup a hearty slap on back, causing him to stumble a bit.

"Nice to see you too, your Highness," Hiccup said as he rubbed his back.

Before he could react, he saw three small, identical boys with red curly hair behind King Fergus' leg. They were staring at him and Toothless curiously. One of them slowly made his way towards Toothless and slowly patted his snout. When he touched Toothless, the triplets ran towards the dragons and started petting and touching him.

Hiccup chuckled a bit as he watched his best friend getting attacked by the three small boys. Suddenly, he heard a cough. He turned and saw an elegant woman with long, black hair.

"Good to see you again, Hiccup," Queen Elinor said with a small smile.

"You too, your Majesty," Hiccup said with a slight bow. He noticed the Queen seemed…different. When he last visited DunBroch, she was uptight and by the book kind of mom. Now, she seemed a little relaxed.

"Well, welcome to Berk," he said with a smile. "Just in time. We're about to celebrate Snoggletog."

"Why do ye guys call it that?" Merida asked.

"Don't ask me cause I don't know," Hiccup said with a shrug.

After a few minutes of talking and catching up, they finally reached the docks. Waiting for them on the docks was Stoic the Vast. Next to him was Thornado, a blue Thunder Drum.

When the boat finally docked, King Fergus climbed down the boat and gave a hearty chuckle as he and Stoic grasped arms.

Hiccup and Toothless climbed down the boat with Merida next to them. She looked around the village with wonder. This is the first time she ever set foot on Berk. Hiccup led her through the village, passing by dragons and villagers. Merida watched as the dragons helped the grown ups and played with the children.

"You wanna check out the Academy?" Hiccup asked as he petted Toothless.

Merida nodded excitedly, wanting to see the place where they train dragons. Hiccup then hopped on Toothless and gestured Merida hop on. Excitedly, Merida sat behind Hiccup, like how she sat on Angus.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked.

"I was born ready," Merida said with an excited tone.

Hiccup then nudged Toothless to go up. With a mighty leap, the three were in the sky. Merida screamed with excitement, feeling the cool, rushing wind on her face. She looked down and saw Berk getting smaller and smaller.

Merida felt like she was living a dream. As long as she could remember, she dreamed about flying through the blue sky.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" Hiccup asked, turning a bit to look at Merida. When Merida nodded, Hiccup pulled the lever. "Hold on tight!"

Before Merida could react, Hiccup jumped off the saddle. Merida gasped as she watched Hiccup falling towards the ground. She then grabbed the rim of the saddle as Toothless followed him. Hiccup then opened his glider and started flying towards the Dragon Academy.

Hiccup looked and nearly laughed at Merida's shocked expression. He and Toothless then smoothly flew towards the academy and landed without a problem. As Merida got off, she walked towards Hiccup and gave him a soft jab on the ribs, which still hurt.

"Don't scare me like that," she said as Hiccup rubbed his ribs.

"But it was awesome, right?" Hiccup asked as they walked towards the entrance. Merida just turned her head, though Hiccup saw that she was impressed.

Once inside, they were greeted by the other Riders and dragons. She shook hands with them, petted the dragons, ignored Snoutlout's advances and punched Tuffnut, who kept bugging her about her hair.

She then met Astrid, who seemed to be studying her. The Viking girl then smiled and shook hands with Merida, saying "Happy Snoggletog."

"So, who wants Yak nog?" Astrid asked after a few minutes.

"How about we go back to the Great Hall," Hiccup suggested hastily, not wanting to experience Yak nog again.

"Good idea, Hiccup!" Snoutlout exclaimed a little loudly as he grabbed Hookfang and dragged him with him to the exit. "Let's go back to the Great Hall! I'm starving!"

Astrid shrugged and motioned Stormfly to follow her, not knowing the real reason they wanted to go the Great Hall. Ruff and Tuff climbed on their dragon and exited the arena with Fishlegs and Meatlug behind them.

"That was weird," Merida commented as they walked towards the exit with Toothless behind them.

"Trust me, you don't want taste Yak nog," Hiccup said as he shuddered a bit.

Merida laughed as they made their way towards the Great Hall, where they feasted and sang Snoggletog songs. Merida sat next to the other Riders, listening to the stories of their adventures.

"So, what will ye be doin tomorrow?" Merida asked after a thrilling tale about the Red Death.

"We're going to an island where the dragons lay their eggs," Hiccup said as he drank from his mug. "We do this every year."

"Can I c'om?" Merida asked, looking excited.

"I don't know," Hiccup mused, looking at his mug. "You should ask your parents first."

"I don't see why not," Fergus said as he heard their conversation, so did Elinor and Stoic. "It would be a good experience for Merida."

"Yes!" Merida cheered quietly, unaware that her brothers took her dessert. When she looked at her plate, she saw her pie gone. "Hey!"

She turned and saw her brothers eating her pie. Hiccup laughed as Merida fumed. She glared at him and took his pie, much to his surprise.

"Well that was mature, Princess," Hiccup said with a chuckle as Merida stuck her tongue at him. Hiccup just laughed until Merida laughed with him.

_The Next Day…_

"How can ye see through this fog?" Merida asked, peering through the thick fog.

"We can't," Hiccup replied as they flew past the large, sharp rocks. "We let the dragons see for us."

It's been hours since they left Berk with the all the dragons. Toothless, Stormfly, Hookfang and Meatlug were carrying the ship. The twins decided to stay in Berk, to watch over the island. They also wanted to watch the triplets, who seemed to act just like them. That was something that scared Hiccup.

"How can they see through th's fog?" Merida asked, curious.

"Their instinct," Hiccup replied simply. He suddenly saw the fog thinning. "We're here."

Merida looked down and gasped. The island was amazing; it was crescent shape with a large hot spring on the middle; mist covered the island, making a rainbow-like hue as light passed through it.

"It's beautiful," Merida said with awe.

The dragons landed all over the island and started building nests out of rocks. Merida watched as the dragons piled rocks to make a nest for the eggs. She was sitting next to Toothless as Hiccup assigned the other Riders their posts, the Viking boat right next to them.

"Where are ye'r eggs, Toothless?" Merida asked as she petted the Night Fury.

Toothless just grunted. Merida looked around and noticed that there weren't other Night Furies on the island. Merida suddenly understood what Toothless meant.

Hiccup walked towards the two and sat next to Toothless and pulled out his small notebook and charcoal pencil. Merida looked over his shoulder and watched as Hiccup drew a crude drawing of the dragons building their nests with a few strokes.

"Impressive," Merida commented once he was done. "You really got better at drawing when I last saw ye."

"Thanks," Hiccup said sheepishly. "So, how you liking the island so far?"

"It's amazing," Merida said as she leaned on Toothless. "Can't wait for the eggs ta hatch."

Hiccup just smiled and flipped over a new page. As he drew, Merida was rubbing Toothless on his neck, the dragon wagging his tail happily. After a few minutes, she turned her attention to Hiccup, who was concentrating on his drawing.

Curious, she was about to look over his shoulder. Hiccup sensed her and quickly closed his notebook.

"What ye got th're, Hiccup?" Merida asked as she moved closer to Hiccup, who was trying to hide the notebook.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"C'mon! Let me see!" Merida said as she tried to get the notebook.

Hiccup stubbornly clung to the notebook, keeping it away from her reach. Huffing, Merida turned to Toothless, who was watching them curiously.

"Help me out h're, Toothless," she said as she tried to grab the book.

"Nice try," Hiccup said. "But there's no way Toothless will listen to yo-"

He was cut off when Toothless tackled him to the ground and lay down on him, his weight stopping Hiccup's movement.

"Traitor," Hiccup grunted as Merida grabbed the notebook from his hands.

Merida smirked as she opened the book, flipping through the pages. She then stopped at the latest drawing: a drawing of her. It was beautiful and well detailed. She looked at it before turning to Hiccup, who looked away with an embarrassed expression. He would have moved, but Toothless was still on him.

Merida put the notebook down and smiled at Hiccup. Before the young Viking could react, Merida laid on top of Toothless, smirking at Hiccup's expression.

"Guys…it's getting hard to breathe here…" Hiccup said, feeling like a yak was using him as a bed. "Can you guys get off now?"

"Maybe later," Merida said with a giggle. "It's really comfortable h're."

Hiccup groaned as Toothless put his head down, getting comfortable. After a few hours, Hiccup was standing trembling legs, stretching his stiff body. Merida was sitting near the campfire, roasting salmons on a stick. Toothless was chowing down on a mountain of raw fish. It was already sundown and they were having dinner.

"H're's ye'r supper," Merida said as Hiccup sat down.

"Thanks," Hiccup said as he took the salmon and started eating it. "You're heavier than you look, Merida."

Merida gave him a jab on the shoulder, glaring at him.

"I'm not heavy," she said. "Ye'r just scrawny!"

"Hey, I'm not scrawny anymore!" Hiccup protested. "I'm a lean Viking machine! Can't you see all my raw Vikingness?"

He started flexing his arms to prove his point. Merida laughed as Toothless just snorted. Soon, Hiccup started laughing with them. After a few minutes, the two were gasping for air, lying on the ground. Merida sat up and noticed something in the horizon.

"Hiccup, look!" she said as Hiccup sat up.

Hiccup looked at where she was pointing and gasped. The sunset was beautiful; the orange light was reflecting on the blue sea as night approaches. The two watched as the sun slowly sank down the horizon. As they watched, Hiccup felt something heavy on his shoulder. He slightly turned his head and saw Merida leaning on his shoulder.

Blushing slightly, he reluctantly placed a hand over her shoulder. Merida smirked and leaned closer to him. They just sat there and watched the sunset together.

_Two Days Later…_

Hiccup was sleeping peacefully, using Toothless as a pillow. Before he knew it, someone was shaking his shoulders. He opened his eyes and saw Merida, who had an excited look in her eyes.

"Morning," he mumbled as Toothless sleepily lifted his head.

"The eggs are about ta hatch!" Merida exclaimed excitedly.

Hiccup was immediately awakened and stood up, stretching. Merida grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the nests, where the mother dragons were pushing their eggs towards the smaller hot springs.

"What are they doin'?" Merida asked as she watched the dragons.

"They're putting their eggs in those hot springs," Hiccup explained as the eggs went rolling in the springs, sinking towards the bottom.

"Why would they do that?"

"For safety," Hiccup replied as he remembered the last time an egg hatched outside the springs.

Merida blinked at him with a confused expression. Before she could ask him, they heard a small pop in the springs. She looked and saw small baby Gronkles swimming out of the water.

"Awww…" Merida said as she watched the baby dragons waddling towards their mother. As Merida looked at the baby, she noticed a small egg near the spring. "Look, there's one egg here."

She started walking towards the egg, which was shaking slightly. Hiccup noticed and his eyes widened. He quickly ran towards Merida and pulled her away from the egg. Before Merida could react, the egg exploded and the baby dragon came flying towards them. She quickly ducked as the dragon came flying towards them, but Hiccup got hit in the head.

He stumbled towards the ground, the Gronkle lying on his face. He grabbed the baby Gronkle and stood up, groaning.

"So that what ye meant," Merida said as Hiccup put the baby down.

"Yeah," Hiccup groaned. He then turned to the baby Gronkle. "Hey there, little fella."

The baby Gronkle yawned in reply and tried to use its little wings. It managed to hover for a few seconds before it fell to the ground. It rolled around before it managed to stand on its small legs and walked towards the other babies.

After that, Hiccup, Merida and Toothless walked around the island and saw other eggs hatching. They watched as little dragons stumbled on their little legs towards their mother, who fed them digested fish.

"Th's is amazing," Merida commented as she watched the baby dragons. "Ye do th's every year?"

"Yup," Hiccup said with a smile. "The eggs are a bit of a problem, but it's worth it."

After a while, the other Riders ran towards them, looking a bit happy. After some discussion about how many eggs have hatched and if there are more eggs, Hiccup nodded and told the others to prepare the ship.

"So what's the ship f'r?" Merida asked as the Riders ran back towards their dragons.

"Well we have to have something to carry the babies," Hiccup replied as he climbed on Toothless. "You wanna help?"

Merida nodded and climbed on Toothless, wrapping her arms around Hiccup. The boy blushed as he nudged the dragon to fly. Toothless leap up into the air, spreading his wings. They flew above the dragons, causing the older ones to fly a few feet above the grounds. Toothless roared like he was ordering the other dragons.

The dragons responded by herding their babies into groups and started leading them towards somewhere. Toothless then flew ahead of them, going towards the ocean. Merida then saw the ship, where other dragons were carrying their babies and putting them in.

Once the babies were aboard and everyone made sure no egg was left, the Riders attached the rope on the adult dragons. Once the rope was secured, the boat was lifted up into the air.

"Let's go home, guys!" Hiccup shouted. The dragons roared so loud that the Riders and Merida almost had their ears popped.

As one, the dragons flew back towards the direction of Berk, carrying the ship-full of baby dragons.

_A Few Hours Later…_

It was already nighttime as the villagers were waiting in the center of their village, staring at the dark sky with excitement. The King, Queen and their sons were standing with them, waiting.

As they look, they noticed something; a large shadowy figure flying towards them. When the Vikings spotted it, they started cheering. The royal family watched with awe as they saw a ship being carried by dragons. They also noticed Merida on the Night Fury, looking excited.

They watched as the ship was gently placed on the ground and the dragons let go of the rope. Everyone then watched as baby dragons started appearing from the boat, hovering towards the ground.

The Vikings cheered happily as their dragons ran towards them, nuzzling at them, along with their baby dragons. As Hiccup and Merida dismounted, their family walked towards them and gave them a big hug.

Once all the baby dragons were on the ground, everyone went back to the Great Hall to celebrate. Inside, everyone sang, drank and ate, petting the baby dragons. The triplets were holding their own dragons; a baby Monstrous Nightmare, a baby Gronkle and a baby Deadly Nadder. King Fergus was petting a baby Thunder Drum as Elinor was feeding a small Terrible Terror.

Merida was petting a baby Deadly Nadder on her lap as a baby Monstrous Nightmare was making its way towards her shoulder. She laughed as a baby Gronkle was on top of Hiccup's head. A baby Zippleback was on his lap, playing with its two heads. Toothless was next to them, eating some fish.

"Th's is the best day of m'e life," Merida said with a smile. "Thank ye, Hiccup."

Hiccup just smiled back at her. Unaware by the two, they were leaning closer to each other. Toothless noticed them and decided to help his friend. He used his snout to push Hiccup towards Merida. Surprise, Hiccup kissed Merida on the lips.

They froze before they separated, staring at each other with wide eyes and red faces. Then, before the young Viking could apologize, the princess wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. After getting pass his surprise, he wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes.

Everyone in the room cheered as they saw the two kissing, raising their cups to the new couple. The King and Queen smiled at their daughter as they hold hands. Stoic smiled at his son as the other Riders cheered, especially Astrid.

The two teens then stopped kissing and leaned their heads together, smiling happily.

"Happy Snoggletog!"

**I am happy! Hope you guys liked it! This is my first fanfic of the couple so I'm a little nervous. Anyway, see you later and Merry Christmas!**


End file.
